The grip on my collar suddenly relaxed. I was dropped back on the ground. The guy named Alec kneeled to look me in the eyes.
“I saw that Ururu brought you here. You wanna join the rescue team?”
“Yes!”
“Alrighty. Then you’d best pass this letter to the captain yourself.”
Alec gave me back my letter and told me to follow him. He walked off before I even had a chance to reply. Mill then gave me a gentle shove to get me walking.
“So you wanna join the rescue team, huh?”
“Y-yes sir.”
“You’re small, but if you came here all on your own, then that shows you’ve got guts. The captain will decide if you’re ready, but I’m happy to welcome you.”
“Oh, uh, thank you.”
I know it was rude, but I couldn’t help being surprised at how much the guy’s personality differed from his appearance. I felt a little relieved as I stared farther into the forest where the rescue team accommodations were. As we continued down the path, I knew that we would meet the captain. I swallowed back my nervousness and I walked on.
“So that’s the rescue team dormitory,” I uttered.
Alec and Mill walked me to the front of the building, then told me to wait while they brought the captain over. But instead of going inside, they headed off down a different path, leaving me on my own.
“Reminds me a bit of Kiriha and Kyo’s house,” I remarked.
It looked like an old building. I thought back to the times I’d visited Kiriha and Kyo. I was standing there reminiscing when I noticed someone walking toward me from the path that Alec and Mill had gone down. At first, I thought they were coming back, but then I realized it was a woman with long hair, dragging something behind her.
The sight of the woman sent a strange shiver through my body. It was just like the feeling I got when Usato had decided to take my training seriously. I watched the woman closely, and when the light through the trees illuminated her figure, I couldn’t help but shriek in surprise.
The woman had long green hair. She wore a white coat just like Usato’s. She was casually dragging a girl across the ground. The girl had silver hair and tanned skin. She looked like a demon. I’d heard about them from Usato, but this was my first time seeing them.
“But that’s not the scary part . . .” I uttered.
The woman with the green hair was far more concerning than the demon. Her hair covered her right eye, but her left impaled me with its sharp gaze. Most shocking of all, however, was her aura. Just like Usato had said, she oozed with the presence of an apex predator. I knew exactly who she was. The way she held herself was exactly like Usato.
“So, you must be the kid who wants to join,” she said.
It was the captain of the rescue team, Rose. Usato’s teacher and superior officer. The woman in charge of overseeing the running of the rescue team. She tossed the demon casually onto the grass by her side. The demon clutched her head and came back to consciousness the very instant she hit the grass.
“Huh?!” she shouted, startled. “Where am I? I don’t remember a thing.”
She looked awfully confused, but Rose didn’t pay her any mind.
“Take a short break,” she said, glancing at the demon.
“Huh?! Uh, okay! I will rest with everything I have!”
Rose’s order left the demon girl looking very surprised, but she immediately and happily slumped onto her butt and sat on the grass.
What does it even mean to rest with everything you have? Nack, get it together! You have more important things to be doing!
For starters, that meant passing over my letter of introduction.
“M-my name is Nack!” I said, thrusting the letter out in front of me. “I’m a healer, and I’m here by recommendation of Usato!”
Rose did not make any move to take the letter. For a moment, I wondered if I’d done something rude without realizing it. I timidly raised my head, and right at that instant a shock ran through my forehead, and I was sent flying backward.
“Huh?! Whoa!” I shouted.
I landed on my feet, clutching my forehead. I looked up and saw Rose with her palm facing me, fingers open, a pleased look on her face.
Did she just . . . flick me in the head?
Are you kidding?! I felt like my head was going to fly off my shoulders!
“Hmph. Interesting,” Rose said. “Looks like you’ve had the basics beat into you. I’m guessing Usato did that, yeah? Which means he wrote you this letter of introduction.”
Rose smiled as she watched me, waving the letter in her hand.
When did she take it from me? I didn’t even notice!
I stood there in a stunned silence, while the demon girl dashed over toward Rose.
“U-Usato?!” she cried. “What is it?! Is he coming back?!”
“Shut up. Bug me later,” Rose said, flicking the girl straight in the forehead.
I could tell straight away that it was way more powerful than what she’d used on me. The demon girl flew through the air and slid to halt right back where she’d been resting earlier. She was also unconscious.
I understood at that moment that any careless comments came with a hefty punishment. Rose once again ignored the demon girl and walked over to me. I was petrified so badly I couldn’t move. Rose kneeled in front of me the same way Alec had just a little while ago.
“Let’s get one thing straight,” she said. “I am not as kind nor as gentle as Usato. You can cry, you can collapse, you can beg for your life, but you will get no mercy. In our line of work, we deal with the lives of others, so I will not stand for slacking or for compromise. If you’re happy with those conditions, then as of today, you are a rescue team member.”
She didn’t mince words. Rose was straight to the point. I knew that she was telling the truth. She would show me no mercy. It was right there in her powerful gaze, clear as day. But so what? I’d learned that lesson in my training with Usato, and my mind was made up.
“I will gladly serve as a member of the team!” I said.
From here on out this was the place that would make me stronger. No matter how painful or how hard things got, I would overcome all of it. It was the path Usato had revealed to me—the path I had chosen to walk.